FaithEngineerhttps://www.faithengineer.com
Exploring Faith, Life, and TechnologyThu, 12 Apr 2018 13:40:52 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.56560640FaithEngineerhttps://feedburner.google.comSubscribe with PlusmoSubscribe with The Free DictionarySubscribe with Bitty BrowserSubscribe with NewsAlloySubscribe with Live.comSubscribe with Excite MIXSubscribe with Yourminis.comSubscribe with Attensa for OutlookSubscribe with WebwagSubscribe with netomat HubSubscribe with Podcast ReadySubscribe with FlurrySubscribe with WikioSubscribe with Daily RotationSaved – Another Great WordPress Theme from Churchthemes.comhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/cVCnrk9dMwc/saved-another-great-wordpress-theme-churchthemes-com.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2018/01/saved-another-great-wordpress-theme-churchthemes-com.html#respondMon, 08 Jan 2018 22:53:09 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=57670<p>I&#8217;ve been wanting to spend some time with the latest release from Churchthemes and I finally got the chance. After installing the Saved theme on a test site and playing around with it, I&#8217;m really impressed. Lately, I&#8217;ve setup several other church themes on WordPress, including several from Themeforest, and I&#8217;ve found myself missing the simplicity and consistancy that Churchthemes</p>
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I’ve been wanting to spend some time with the latest release from Churchthemes and I finally got the chance. After installing the Saved theme on a test site and playing around with it, I’m really impressed. Lately, I’ve setup several other church themes on WordPress, including several from Themeforest, and I’ve found myself missing the simplicity and consistancy that Churchthemes always provides.

Saved and Maranatha are both excellent themes with very distinct appearances. I like Maranatha for it’s smooth appearance and call to action. I like Saved for it’s ability to be easily customized. Saved gived you the ability to add any widget to your hompeage. For power users, this really opens up a huge opportunity to customize the homepage.

Saved is an ultra-premium WordPress theme for making an incredible church website. With its bold design and super easy customization, Saved helps you create a website that reflects your church’s personality.

Saved makes building your church website easy too — especially the homepage. Included is a powerful drag-and-drop homepage builder. Simply enter the Customizer then add the widgets of your choice while watching the live preview. No complicated page builder plugin needed. Saved makes web design easy for anybody.

Saved offers the ability to easily add sermons, events, staff listings, locagtions, and blog updates to your website, and the theme makes everything fit together perfectly. It really is a great looking, high quality theme.

Here are a few screenshots to give you an overview, but remember that you can easily customize your site’s colors, logos, and fonts.

Churchthemes excels in offering great documentation with their themes, including screenshots and video tutorials. Their guides are great at helping you get started, even if you don’t have much experience with WordPress. They also follow WordPress best practices so that you won’t be stuck with your theme. You can easily switch to any of their themes without losing all your hard work. Their prices are reasonable, although not cheap, but you get great support and quality. When it comes to WordPress themes, you really do get what you pay for.

If you are interested in purchasing the theme or reading more about it, check out my affiliate link to find out more.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2018/01/saved-another-great-wordpress-theme-churchthemes-com.html/feed057670https://www.faithengineer.com/2018/01/saved-another-great-wordpress-theme-churchthemes-com.htmlReadScripture – A Great App to Read and Study Scripturehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/QbyLV8pSwhg/readscripture-great-app-read-study-scripture.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/11/readscripture-great-app-read-study-scripture.html#respondThu, 30 Nov 2017 15:44:38 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=57659<p>Just recently, I stumbled on a new app for reading through the Bible. The Read Scripture app is an awesome way to stay connected to God&#8217;s Word. I really like the simplicity of the app. It is split up into 15 to 20-minute segments that you can go through at your own pace. Most days have a video that explains</p>
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Just recently, I stumbled on a new app for reading through the Bible. The Read Scripture app is an awesome way to stay connected to God’s Word. I really like the simplicity of the app. It is split up into 15 to 20-minute segments that you can go through at your own pace. Most days have a video that explains themes and concepts of the passage you are reading, and the text is presented in story form so you aren’t distracted by verse numbers. The app doesn’t have many advanced features yet, but I like that it simply focuses on the text. It uses the ESV translation and utilizes videos from The Bible Project. The videos are incredible as well. They really help bring understanding to the text. It is arranged so that you can go through the entire Bible in a year if you do a segment each day.

The Bible Project also has a downloadable reading plan and they also have several reading plans on YouVersion that use the same videos. Check out the video below for more information about the Read Scripture app.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/11/readscripture-great-app-read-study-scripture.html/feed057659https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/11/readscripture-great-app-read-study-scripture.htmlSermon Podcasting Tutorial for Small Churches (updated)http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/tBXTr4dWf9M/sermon-podcasting-tutorial-small-churches-updated.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/10/sermon-podcasting-tutorial-small-churches-updated.html#commentsThu, 12 Oct 2017 14:14:17 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=57649<p>One of the most popular posts on this blog was one I shared ten years ago about podcasting for churches. Since that time much has changed, and yet I still receive questions on a regular basis about how to create a podcast for sermon audio. I wanted to share the basics of how you can start sharing your sermon audio</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/10/sermon-podcasting-tutorial-small-churches-updated.html">Sermon Podcasting Tutorial for Small Churches (updated)</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.faithengineer.com">FaithEngineer</a>.</p>

One of the most popular posts on this blog was one I shared ten years ago about podcasting for churches. Since that time much has changed, and yet I still receive questions on a regular basis about how to create a podcast for sermon audio. I wanted to share the basics of how you can start sharing your sermon audio through several different podcast providers.

Here are the basic steps you will need to follow.

Record the audio

Upload the audio to your website or podcast provider

Create the Podcast feed and submit it to different services

Let’s break it down step by step.

Record the Audio

This is an important step. Many smaller churches have poor audio quality which results in a podcast that is hard to listen to. You have several options, but I recommend recording the audio directly from the soundboard if possible. On many newer digital boards, you can record directly to a SD card or attached USB external drive. This would work great for sermons. Check out the QSC Touchmix, Presonus Studiolive, or Behringer X32 series for easy to use digital soundboards.

If you have an older analog system, you can use an aux feed or tape out jacks to connect to a digital recorder or CD recorder. Recording directly from the board can eliminate static hum and ambient noise that a handheld recorder or camcorder will capture.

If you want more information on how to record the sermon audio, check out my detailed post about recording audio. I also talk about how to edit and save the file in the correct mp3 format for podcasts.

One final note, if you have static hum, find out what is causing it and fix it. Hum can be removed by many audio editing programs like audacity after you finish recording, but the resulting file can sound robotic. It is much easier to fix the problems at the source. Hum is usually caused by ground loop problems in your sound system. You can use direct boxes with a ground lift setting, or hum eliminators for computers or devices hooked up to sound system.

Upload the Audio

This will require some research. First, you will need to check with your website provider. If you don’t’ have a website, then I suggest you stop right here and pick one that offers podcast support. Many church website providers have built-in podcasting support, so you will need to find out how to upload your audio and create a feed.

I highly recommend doing your own website using WordPress. Using the self-hosted WordPress system, you can easily add a theme from ChurchThemes and end up with a great looking and easy to use church website. You will have the added benefit of being able to sort through your sermons by author, topic, scripture, and series. ChurchThemes has a great tutorial section on their website sharing how this works.

If you use another website service that doesn’t offer built-in podcasting, you will have to use a third party system to store your audio files. You can look at Buzzsprout, Libsyn, BluBrry, or SoundCloud. These will require a monthly fee, and are a little more complicated to setup and embed on your website, but you can still end up with a great result.

Submit the Podcast Feed

Now comes the fun part. Depending on which system you use, you will have to find the podcast feed that is generated for you. This will be an RSS feed that you will submit to iTunes and the other providers. Each system is different, but a quick google search can help you find the info you need. For WordPress websites using a theme from ChurchThemes, you will find the necessary info on their podcasting guide. For our church WordPress site, I use the Blubrry Powerpress plugin to add additional information to the podcast feed. If you use WordPress, it will work with any theme and create the podcast feed for you.

I recommend submitting the RSS feed to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and TuneIn. Here is a great online guide that will help you with the basics of submitting your feed.

Submission Links

Here are a few products I mentioned in the blog post. Disclaimer, some of the hardware and service links are affiliate links. I only recommend services that I use and like, and the affiliate links help cover the cost of running this blog.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/10/sermon-podcasting-tutorial-small-churches-updated.html/feed157649https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/10/sermon-podcasting-tutorial-small-churches-updated.htmlCheck out this new app for Pastors on Kickstarterhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/vlqiDSR1YX0/check-new-app-pastors-kickstarter.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/08/check-new-app-pastors-kickstarter.html#respondWed, 02 Aug 2017 21:44:57 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=57638<p>This looks promising. Sermonary is a new online tool to create, arrange, and present your sermons. I have been using XMind, a mind-mapping tool for several years, but I plan on trying this out. I already backed this on Kickstarter, and there aren&#8217;t a lot of spots left to get early access. I like that it is an online</p>
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This looks promising. Sermonary is a new online tool to create, arrange, and present your sermons. I have been using XMind, a mind-mapping tool for several years, but I plan on trying this out. I already backed this on Kickstarter, and there aren’t a lot of spots left to get early access. I like that it is an online service, and that you can use it in podium mode to preach from your iPad.

Watch the video below and let me know what you think. I think it would work well for building entire sermon series and doing long-range sermon planning. It works by letting you create your sermon in a modular layout. You can build the sermon block by block, and use resources to help you pull everything together. Click here to view the Kickstarter campaign.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/08/check-new-app-pastors-kickstarter.html/feed057638https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/08/check-new-app-pastors-kickstarter.htmlProtecting Your Family Online with Circlehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/KTVIBxrVcE0/protecting-family-online-circle.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/05/protecting-family-online-circle.html#commentsMon, 01 May 2017 14:16:35 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=57604<p>A growing problem in many families is learning how to monitor your children&#8217;s usage of mobile devices. Between cell phones, tablets, laptops, and gaming systems, it seems like our children are constantly being tempted to spend more and more time online. So as a parent, how can we monitor and protect our children? We need to ask ourselves if we are</p>
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A growing problem in many families is learning how to monitor your children’s usage of mobile devices. Between cell phones, tablets, laptops, and gaming systems, it seems like our children are constantly being tempted to spend more and more time online. So as a parent, how can we monitor and protect our children? We need to ask ourselves if we are allowing them to become addicted to technology at the expense of real life relational connections. As a parent and pastor, I have seen so many examples of children and teenagers who are exposed and even addicted to pornography at a young age. This is a serious issue, and I’m afraid we are underestimating the effects of unlimited and uncontrolled internet access for kids. For several years, we have used free internet filtering by OpenDNS in our home, and that is a good first step, but what if you want more control?

Meet Circle, a relatively new device designed to manage the internet usage in your family. It is a device that works with your router in your home to monitor your family. You can set time limits for individual apps, you can filter unsafe internet sites, and you can even pause the internet during meals or during the night. It allows you to customize the access for each member of your family by age and by device.

After you purchase Circle (here’s my Amazon affiliate link for Circle), it is easy to setup. It then monitors and controls all your devices that are connected to your home network. If your children have mobile phones, I highly recommend that you check out Circle Go. For a subscription fee of $9.99 a month, you can manage up to 10 devices anywhere, whether they are connected to your home network or not. This is really a great solution to protecting your family.

Meet the new way for families to filter content, set time limits and even pause the internet across all your technology and devices… Meet Circle. It’s a tiny box. A simple phone app. Plus, a little magic.With Circle, you can control all the devices in your home with an easy to use app and keep up with what your kids are doing online.

Here are a few videos to show you how it works.

Let me know if you are using it and your thoughts. I think this is really helpful for parents with young children, pre-teens, and teenagers.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/05/protecting-family-online-circle.html/feed257604https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/05/protecting-family-online-circle.htmlFacing Darknesshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/Ntog7o2iRzU/facing-darkness.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/03/facing-darkness.html#respondFri, 31 Mar 2017 15:43:14 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=57594<p>Last night, Jennifer and I were able to go to Boone, North Carolina to see the new documentary Facing Darkness by Samaritan&#8217;s Purse. What an incredible movie! It tells the story of the Ebola outbreak in Liberia in 2014 and the medical personnel who contracted the deadly disease. I really didn&#8217;t know what to expect from the movie, but it</p>
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Last night, Jennifer and I were able to go to Boone, North Carolina to see the new documentary Facing Darkness by Samaritan’s Purse. What an incredible movie! It tells the story of the Ebola outbreak in Liberia in 2014 and the medical personnel who contracted the deadly disease. I really didn’t know what to expect from the movie, but it deeply moved me. Since our church has worked with Samaritan’s Purse doing disaster relief and my wife has worked with them staffing the Operation Christmas Child processing center in Boone, I know the extent of their ministry. What they do on a national and international scale is incredible.

This movie really makes you think about how Christians are called to serve and help those in need. During the Ebola outbreak, it was the Christian relief agencies who stepped in to provide medical care, not the government. When everyone else was running away from the problem, believers rose to the challenge to help. The movie makes us all think about our faith and compassion. Will we choose compassion over fear? Will we be willing to help when others are running away? Will we run into the fire to help?

The movie will only be shown one additional time on April 10th. Go to the website at facingdarknessmovie.com to find a theater near you and buy tickets. This is a movie that will really let you see God at work around the world, and it reminds us that miracles still happen.

As the Ebola pandemic was sweeping across West Africa in the spring of 2014, one organization was willing to step up and fully commit its people and resources to provide comfort, compassion, and care to the hurting people of Africa … all in the Name of Jesus. But when the deadly virus infected its own medical personnel, including Dr. Kent Brantly, the epic crisis truly hit home for Samaritan’s Purse and its leader Franklin Graham. FACING DARKNESS tells the incredible true story of how—with only faith, determination, and prayer—the ministry moved mountains … and God performed a miracle!

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/03/facing-darkness.html/feed057594https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/03/facing-darkness.htmlA Great Way to Try out WordPresshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/z7BBunVmK8U/great-way-try-wordpress.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/03/great-way-try-wordpress.html#commentsTue, 21 Mar 2017 21:41:08 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=57582<p>Over the last few years, I&#8217;ve recommended and used WordPress as a great solution for websites. WordPress is no longer just for blogs, it&#8217;s a great solution for churches and small businesses as well. You can get started with WordPress.com which is the entry level version that is hosted for you. However, if you really want to explore the power</p>
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Over the last few years, I’ve recommended and used WordPress as a great solution for websites. WordPress is no longer just for blogs, it’s a great solution for churches and small businesses as well. You can get started with WordPress.com which is the entry level version that is hosted for you. However, if you really want to explore the power and flexibility of WordPress, you need to try out WordPress.org, which is the self-hosted version. The self-hosted version allows you to use custom themes and plugins to extend the functionality of your website, but you will need to pay for web hosting.

If you want to experiment with WordPress, but if you don’t have your own web hosting, then here is a neat solution for you. The hosting company FlyWheel offers a local development system appropriately called Local. This turns your own computer into a web hosting system so that you can play around with WordPress and develop sites locally without having to use a web host.

Website designers use systems like these to design new websites. Once the sites are designed, they can be uploaded to a server. A great use for churches is to copy over your existing WordPress site to try out new themes. It’s also a good way to try out updates without affecting your live site.

NOTE: this still takes some skill and experience, but this is the easiest local development system I have ever used. I’ve used MAMP before, but this is really much more simple to use. It’s available on Mac currently, with a Windows version available in BETA. If you want to get involved in website design or learn more about WordPress, here’s your chance.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/03/great-way-try-wordpress.html/feed157582https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/03/great-way-try-wordpress.htmlGreat Books for Small Town Pastorshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/mIDrlWRUbxY/great-books-small-town-pastors.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/01/great-books-small-town-pastors.html#respondFri, 06 Jan 2017 16:17:54 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=57535<p>Ministry in small towns and cities is tough. The issues that rural America face are very similar to inner city problems: job loss, population loss, drug use, and lack of opportunities. As a pastor, I&#8217;ve realized that almost all conferences, magazines, and resources seem geared toward large megachurches in large suburban areas. But the reality is most churches are under</p>
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Ministry in small towns and cities is tough. The issues that rural America face are very similar to inner city problems: job loss, population loss, drug use, and lack of opportunities. As a pastor, I’ve realized that almost all conferences, magazines, and resources seem geared toward large megachurches in large suburban areas. But the reality is most churches are under 200 people in attendance, and that doesn’t mean that they aren’t effective.

A couple of years ago, God gave me an idea to write a book about small town ministry. I’ve started working on it, and I am now working on a proposal. I’ve been researching and reading books about ministry in small towns, so I wanted to share a few that I have found helpful.

If you are a small-town pastor, please don’t feel discouraged. The impact that you can have on your community is enormous. Don’t base your success on comparisons to the latest and greatest megachurch, but instead, base your success on your faithfulness to reaching and serving your community.

Small Town Jesus: Taking the gospel mission seriously in seemingly unimportant places

This is a great book that has a lot of practical information to help small town pastors understand how to reach their communities. The first section lays out the Biblical reasons on why we cannot and should not neglect reaching small towns for Jesus, and the second section gives you the practical advice on how you can be more effective. Click here to view on Amazon

Small towns are big mission fields that are almost totally neglected by modern church planters. City ministry has become, for many, the definition of godly ministry. But what about the millions of people around the world who live in small towns?

90% of the churches in the world have less than 200 people. What if that’s not a bad thing? What if smallness is an advantage God wants us to use, not a problem to fix? In The Grasshopper Myth, Karl Vaters takes on some of the unbiblical beliefs we’ve held about church growth, church size and God’s will for the last several decades. Then he offers a game plan for a New Small Church.

This is a great book about how a small church in Arkansas used technology to extend their reach in rural areas. Click here to view on Amazon

Small church buildings dotting the countryside are home to ministries that often struggle with limited attendance, no money, and little expectation that change can revitalize their future. In Transforming Church in Rural America, Pastor Shannon O’Dell shares a powerful vision of relevance, possibility, and excellence for these small churches.

This is another good book, although I would say that it is geared towards lay people more than pastors. It gives good practical advice on how you can reach communities for Christ through relational evangelism. Click here to view on Amazon

Small Town Mission is a practical guide for gospel-centered mission in small towns. If you haven’t noticed, people who live in small towns have limited options for restaurants, shopping, and books about mission. Small towns desperately need normal, everyday people like farmers, factory workers, teachers, secretaries, and small business owners who think and act like missionaries to reach their friends, neighbors, co-workers, and extended families for Christ.

All Amazon links are Amazon Affiliate Links. I receive a small commission on any purchases made which help me to support this site

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/01/great-books-small-town-pastors.html/feed057535https://www.faithengineer.com/2017/01/great-books-small-town-pastors.htmlMy Impression of the New iPhone 7 Plushttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/sxPu-MJm8AI/impression-new-iphone-7-plus.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/12/impression-new-iphone-7-plus.html#respondMon, 19 Dec 2016 20:00:33 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=57521<p>When the iPhone 7 was released, I took advantage of a generous trade-in promotion from Verizon to pick up the brand new iPhone 7 Plus. Now that I&#8217;ve had it for a few months, I wanted to share my thoughts about it. Size I was really worried about going to the larger plus-sized phone from my iPhone 6. I&#8217;ve never</p>
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When the iPhone 7 was released, I took advantage of a generous trade-in promotion from Verizon to pick up the brand new iPhone 7 Plus. Now that I’ve had it for a few months, I wanted to share my thoughts about it.

Size

I was really worried about going to the larger plus-sized phone from my iPhone 6. I’ve never had a big phone before, and I was skeptical about the larger size. But the camera on the new Phone really swayed me to the 7 Plus. After a few months, I’m glad I went with the larger phone. It still fits in my pocket, and I’ve adjusted great to the screen. I do a lot of reading on my iPhone using the Kindle app and the Bible app, and the new phone size really works well. In some ways, my iPhone has replaced my iPad and Kindle for most of my reading. I always have it with me and it’s convenient to just use it. Typing is also easier on the big screen, but it is a little tougher to hold it with one hand.

Battery Life

One of the advantages of the larger phone is the longer battery life. It’s been nice making through the entire day without having to recharge. Although I’m sure that in two years the battery will lose a lot of its capacity. It seems that I always feel forced to upgrade at 2 years since my battery is almost shot.

Pictures

The biggest reason that I bought the iPhone 7 Plus was the new camera. I was very interested in having the dual camera system. The new bokeh/depth effect was a huge selling point for me. It uses the dual lens system to recreate the bokeh effect that you can get from using a DSLR with a shallow Depth of Field. I really don’t want to carry around another camera with me, so I was hoping this would work great for me and I have not been disappointed. Check out just a few of the pictures I have taken with it. I’m amazed by the quality of the camera, and I use the extra zoom length all the time.

Videos

I also want a phone that does a great job with video. We record a lot of our kid’s activities, so I want something that gives quality results. Again, the iPhone 7 Plus has really impressed me. It can record in 4k, but I typically just record in 1080p. Having the extra lens gives you the ability to zoom in without losing quality. Here’s a short recording of the band that my son plays in. I recorded this on a cheap monopod. The floor was shaking so you see a little vibration, but the lens stabilization really helps.

Other Features (or lack of)

It’s waterproof, so I don’t have to worry about getting it wet or keeping it out of the rain. The speakers are also louder than my old phone. One of the biggest complaints the phone has received is the lack of the headphone jack. It’s a little annoying, but it’s not a deal breaker for me since I have bluetooth earbuds. I’ve also put a good Spigen Hybrid Armor Case on the phone with a Spigen Glass Screen Protector. I also went with the 128 Gig model so I can take plenty of photos and videos. However, with Google Photos backing everything up, I really don’t need all the extra space.

Overall

It’s debatable if we have become too dependent upon our phones, but they have become a huge part of our daily lives. For me, having constant access to YouVersion and the Logos Bible app is a huge time saver. I also can respond to emails without pulling out my laptop. I also use todoist and Google Calendar to keep track of my busy schedule. I’m definitely wrapped up in the Apple ecosystem with my iPad, Macbook Air, Apple Watch, and now my iPhone 7 Plus, but I love how everything connects together.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/12/impression-new-iphone-7-plus.html/feed057521https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/12/impression-new-iphone-7-plus.htmlThe Importance of Mobile Givinghttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/T3qGovH39Is/importance-mobile-giving.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/11/importance-mobile-giving.html#respondThu, 17 Nov 2016 16:14:07 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=57511<p>Most churches now realize the importance of offering online giving, but many have not recognized the transition to mobile giving that is now taking place. There is a difference, and you need to understand how it impacts the giving to your church or ministry. Here&#8217;s a quick survey that you can do during church. Ask how many people have a checkbook with</p>
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Most churches now realize the importance of offering online giving, but many have not recognized the transition to mobile giving that is now taking place. There is a difference, and you need to understand how it impacts the giving to your church or ministry.

Here’s a quick survey that you can do during church. Ask how many people have a checkbook with them. In one of our services, only 2 people raised their hand. Then ask how many have a smartphone. You’ll be amazed at the difference. Those 40 and under very rarely carry cash or checks. In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I wrote a check. If your church depends on cash and checks for the offering, you will struggle to get the younger generation engaged in giving on Sunday mornings.

For a long time, churches have offered online giving through their websites, and that’s a great first step, but it’s not enough. Many online giving solutions are not mobile friendly. You have to go to the website, fill out forms that are designed for computer screens, and hope you followed all the steps correctly. We are now seeing a shift from just online giving, to mobile focused giving solutions. Services like Tithe.ly, Mogiv, PushPay (eChurchGiving), and Kindrid are leading the way to make giving through your mobile device easy to use.

What Our Church is Now Using – Tithe.ly

After evaluating and trying out different solutions, Cornerstone is now using Tithe.ly. We are loving the simplicity of the app, and it offers a few features that set it apart from the other solutions. Here’s what we like about it:

Tithe.ly Provides a Mobile App to Simplify Giving

Download the app from the app store, locate your church, add your debit, credit, or bank account information, and give. It’s simple and it’s fast. You don’t have to remember a website, and you can give from anywhere. Tithe.ly does offer a website link that we use, and it works great. It is mobile friendly, and the design is simple and easy to use. We even integrate the link into our mobile app for our church. Here is a link to our website for online giving to our church. We’ve quickly increased our online giving to around 25% of our total giving at church.

Tithe.ly Offers One Time and Recurring Giving

It’s simple to setup your gift to repeat. Just choose how often you want it to recur, and it handles the rest. You can go to the app or website at any time to see your giving history. Churches can also setup different funds that can be selected for giving.

Tithe.ly Has a Simple Pricing Model

Tithe.ly has no monthly fee and the processing fees are simple.

Credit & Debit 2.9% + 30¢

ACH / Bank 1% + 30¢

Tithe.ly Provides an Option for Givers to Cover Processing Fees

This is something we really like. There is a checkbox to increase the amount of the gift to cover the processing fees. We have found most people will do this.

Tithe.ly Offers Text Giving

Finally, they also offer giving by texting for another $19 per month. We aren’t currently using this option, but it may be a good fit for younger churches. I personally feel that giving by text can be a little complicated compared to giving through an app.

So, if you are not offering online giving, why not? For no monthly fee, you can quickly add giving for your church. Here is a great tutorial on setting this up on your church website.

Note: there are no affiliate links in this review. I’m simply recommending tithe.ly because we use it and like it. I hope you find it helpful to your ministry

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/11/importance-mobile-giving.html/feed057511https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/11/importance-mobile-giving.htmlThe New PreSonus StudioLive 32 Digital Consolehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/VLdSYPtc7Jg/new-presonus-studiolive-32-digital-console.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/10/new-presonus-studiolive-32-digital-console.html#respondWed, 26 Oct 2016 15:39:55 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=57474<p>I&#8217;ve been a big fan of PreSonus and their line of StudioLive mixers since we purchased one of the early models for our church. It has been easy to use, and the multi-track recording features have worked great for us. We have an first generation StudioLive 16.4.2 board, so we are at the limits of the board with the number of</p>
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I’ve been a big fan of PreSonus and their line of StudioLive mixers since we purchased one of the early models for our church. It has been easy to use, and the multi-track recording features have worked great for us. We have an first generation StudioLive 16.4.2 board, so we are at the limits of the board with the number of channels we use. So when I saw the new third generation StudioLive that has just been announced, I wanted to learn a little more about it.

When PreSonus first introduced the StudioLive boards, they were an industry changing product. By incorporating easy to use studio quality multi-track recording in a digital board for live mixing, they were able to capture a large part of the market. Their products were also inexpensive, so that really helped them with smaller touring bands and churches. However, to keep the price down, they eliminated motorized faders which are popular on higher end digital boards. For the last couple of years, the Behringer X32 board has become very popular because it took some of the best features of the StudioLive product and added motorized faders, personal mixers, and more, all while keeping the price down. Now it looks like PreSonus has their answer.

The new StudioLive 32 would be one of my first recommendations for most mid-sized churches. They have finally added motorized faders, a touchscreen control surface, and built-in multi-track recording to SD cards. Sweetwater has it listed currently at $2699, and I’ve seen it even cheaper at some of the wholesale distributors that sell to churches. The best way to check it out is to watch a few of the overview videos. I’m definitely adding this to our wish list for church. We could use the additional channels and the new features would help simplify what we are doing.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/10/new-presonus-studiolive-32-digital-console.html/feed057474https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/10/new-presonus-studiolive-32-digital-console.htmlOvercast: A Great App for Listening to Podcastshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/iELfFnWqEeE/overcast-great-app-listening-podcasts.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/10/overcast-great-app-listening-podcasts.html#commentsFri, 07 Oct 2016 23:20:10 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=57459<p>For the last couple of months, I have started using the Overcast App for listening to Podcasts. I&#8217;m wishing I would have made the switch from the native iOS Podcast app much sooner. It&#8217;s only available on the iPhone, but it&#8217;s a great free app. It does have a few small ads, but you can remove them for a small</p>
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For the last couple of months, I have started using the Overcast App for listening to Podcasts. I’m wishing I would have made the switch from the native iOS Podcast app much sooner. It’s only available on the iPhone, but it’s a great free app. It does have a few small ads, but you can remove them for a small fee of $9.99 per year. I liked the app so much that I wanted to pay for it to support future development.

If you don’t know what a podcast is, the best way to describe it like an internet radio program that you can listen to on-demand. Podcasts have episodes that you can subscribe to and listen to. The Overcast App simplifies the process by helping you find podcasts that you’re twitter friends are listening to. It downloads the new podcast episodes when you have wifi, and then automatically deletes them after you listen to them.

The best feature (and the one that drives my wife crazy) is the speed boost. You can drastically speed up the podcast episodes by cutting out and shortening the silence. I typically listen to most podcasts at about 1.6 times the normal speed. There are so many great podcasts out there. Here are a few great ones to check out and get started. Just do a quick search to add them.

What are your favorite Podcasts? Leave a comment and let me know.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/10/overcast-great-app-listening-podcasts.html/feed157459https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/10/overcast-great-app-listening-podcasts.htmlMy Review of the Mevo Livestream Camera for Churchhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/RfAqjkDXOxA/review-mevo-livestream-camera-church.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/09/review-mevo-livestream-camera-church.html#commentsThu, 29 Sep 2016 01:29:15 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=57447<p>UPDATE 3/23/2017: With the most recent firmware update, Mevo has really helped address some of my concerns listed below. They now offer an option to narrow the field of view to eliminate the fish-eye distortion! This is great news and it really helps the quality and professionalism of the output. With each firmware update, they continue to improve the camera</p>
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UPDATE 3/23/2017: With the most recent firmware update, Mevo has really helped address some of my concerns listed below. They now offer an option to narrow the field of view to eliminate the fish-eye distortion! This is great news and it really helps the quality and professionalism of the output. With each firmware update, they continue to improve the camera and quality. I appreciate the fact that they are listening to their customers.

Several months ago, I shared about a new video live streaming camera that looked interesting for churches. After using it for the last month I wanted to share an update. The Mevo camera by Livestream is an interesting small video camera that can be used to record events and it is controlled from an iPhone. It has a 4k sensor, but only records in 720p. That extra resolution gives you multiple camera shots to choose from, so it’s like a little production studio built into the camera.

Here’s what I like

It’s small and inconspicuous. You can really hide the camera.

It has a wide field of view. This means you can get it really close to what you want to film so that the camera is not in the way. We mounted ours from the ceiling with a Manfrotto articulated arm.

It’s easy to control from anywhere in the room. You can connect the Mevo to your wifi network or you can connect your iPhone directly to the Mevo hotspot.

You can livestream on Facebook Live instantly! It’s free and it works great. It used to cost a large monthly fee for churches to livestream their services. Now you can do it for free with this camera. The great thing about Facebook Live is that people will naturally find your video, even friends of friends. It’s been great to see how many people view our video each week live.

You can record the audio from your iPhone. This means you can hook a better microphone to your iPhone, or even connect your iPhone directly to a sound board using a special adapter. The camera syncs the audio from your iPhone with the video from the camera. It actually works quite well.

When your event is done, the video file can be saved to the microSD card in the camera.

Here’s what I don’t like

The camera has a lot of “fish-eye” distortion due to the wide angle lens. If you are used to watching GoPro videos, this won’t bother you, but it’s a little unprofessional for many events. It’s not as noticeable on the close up shots, but the wide angle shots don’t look great.

The on-board audio from the camera is terrible. Maybe it’s good for speech or small interviews, but it’s terrible in a church setting. Music just distorts and the preaching sounds unnatural. For us, the only solution was to hook the iPhone directly to the sound board. I have had a bug where the camera automatically switches from the iPhone audio to the onboard audio. I’m hoping they get this fixed soon.

The face tracking doesn’t work well. I had high hopes for this, but we have turned off this feature. Any time I looked away from the camera to the side, it completely loses the face tracking. It would be great if it reconnect the face tracking, but you have to re-click the face to reset it each time. It simply doesn’t work for us.

The focus and clarity isn’t great on the closeup shots. I was hoping for better quality video. I was able to get the video looking a little better by manually lowering the exposure and lowering the saturation. By default the camera video was too vivid and oversaturated.

I think it’s a great value for smaller churches. They may add the ability to link together multiple cameras at some point in the future. I also think it would be great for live streaming Bible studies or small groups. I could also see this working well for youth ministry or special events.

Perhaps the best way to evaluate it is to see it in action. Here is a video of one of our recent services from Cornerstone. It’s been edited in Final Cut to add in graphics and videos, but you can see the finished product. You can see the wide angle distortion and the lack of clarity on some of the close up shots.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/09/review-mevo-livestream-camera-church.html/feed2257447https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/09/review-mevo-livestream-camera-church.htmlThree Months With The Apple Watchhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/VaHqd3bBNwo/three-months-apple-watch.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/09/three-months-apple-watch.html#commentsFri, 09 Sep 2016 01:53:25 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=53201<p>I try to always tune in and watch the new keynote presentations from Apple for product releases. After watching the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 release, I thought I would share my thoughts on my Apple Watch. Almost ten years ago, I bought my first Apple computer. Since then, I’ve had multiple MacBooks, iPods, iPads, and iPhones. When the</p>
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I try to always tune in and watch the new keynote presentations from Apple for product releases. After watching the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 release, I thought I would share my thoughts on my Apple Watch.

Almost ten years ago, I bought my first Apple computer. Since then, I’ve had multiple MacBooks, iPods, iPads, and iPhones. When the Apple Watch was first announced, I was excited, but also disappointed because of the cost. I decided to buy a much cheaper Pebble Watch that I have worn for the last 2 years.

But that changed three months ago due to the generosity of a great friend, I was blessed to receive a stainless steel Apple Watch and I’ve been using it daily ever since. Here are my thoughts after using it for the last three months.

Apps, Apps, and More Apps

What really sets the Apple Watch apart from anything else on the market is the availability of apps. I can quickly read texts and emails, quickly respond to text messages, or check my to-do list , and even track my heart rate, activity levels and workouts throughout the day . I can even adjust my home thermostat directly from my watch. The apps keep advancing at a rapid pace. They are getting more intuitive and easier to use as the platform matures.

Battery Life

Battery life has been the biggest adjustment from the Pebble. However, it’s not a huge deal breaker. You just have to get used to charging the Apple Watch every night while you sleep. That does mean that the Apple Watch isn’t a good choice for a sleep tracker. The watch typically has between 25 and 45 percent left at the end of the day with my typical usage. In three months of usage, I haven’t had the battery run out before I go to bed each night.

The Cool Factor

The watch looks and feels like a premium device . While I liked the Pebble watch I wore, it seems like a toy compared to the Apple Watch. It is solid and well made. The screen is much brighter and clearer than I anticipated, and I love the feel of the vibration alerts compared to the Pebble.

The Availability of Bands

While Apple sales many premium watch bands, you can find many options on Amazon for a fraction of the cost. I picked up a cheap silicone sports band for under $15 that I use for running. Since the bands are so easy to change, I’ve been looking at several other bands for different occasions and uses.

WatchOS 3

One of the first things I did was upgrade to the newest beta version. It’s a huge improvement and it really does make the watch more responsive. Apps load faster, and the new button UI is much more intuitive. I felt like the first two versions of WatchOS were a little gimmicky, but now it seems more polished and professional.

Run Tracking

Over the last few months I have been increasing my mileage and running more. Honestly, the Apple Watch doesn’t have the best reputation in the running community. In some ways, I like the Pebble better for run tracking. The biggest advantage of the Apple Watch is the heart rate monitor. I’ve experienced some bugginess with the Runkeeper app that I typically use. The last few updates seem to be fixing some of the problems I had, so it’s definitely getting better. The current watch doesn’t have GPS, so you still need to carry your phone.

Activity Tracking

This is where the watch really sets itself apart. It tracks your total exercise time for the day, your calories burned during the day, and how often you stand throughout the day. The reminders to stand have been really helpful to me. It reminds me to get away from my computer and do something active. It’s also great to look on my activity app on my iPhone to see trends and my history of activity

Final Thoughts

With the release of the new Apple Watch Series 2, they have added some great new features. Now it has built-in GPS, and it’s fully waterproof. They also added a faster processor. They also kept the existing watch in the line up and lowered the price while increasing the speed.

At the current price, I think it’s a great deal. I really wouldn’t go for the new version unless you need the GPS or you are a swimmer. I don’t mind carrying my phone while I run, and if you are a serious runner, you would probably be using a nicer GPS watch. The biggest advantage I see in using a smart watch is that you don’t have to constantly pull your phone out of your pocket to see who is texting or emailing or calling you. Overall, I really love the watch, and I plan on using it for a long time to come.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/09/three-months-apple-watch.html/feed153201https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/09/three-months-apple-watch.htmlMy Favorite Podcastshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/L6LiaK1KUsU/my-favorite-podcasts.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/08/my-favorite-podcasts.html#respondTue, 23 Aug 2016 02:39:20 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=6669<p>Leaders must be learners, and one of the best ways I learn is listening to other leaders. I enjoy reading books about church, theology, and church leadership, and I enjoy listening to podcasts. The great thing about podcasts is that I can listen to them in the car and when I&#8217;m relaxing. I even listen to podcasts while I mow the</p>
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Leaders must be learners, and one of the best ways I learn is listening to other leaders. I enjoy reading books about church, theology, and church leadership, and I enjoy listening to podcasts. The great thing about podcasts is that I can listen to them in the car and when I’m relaxing. I even listen to podcasts while I mow the yard each week (which takes several hours considering the size of our yard)

I have been listening to podcasts using the default Apple Podcasts app, but I plan on trying out the Overcast app soon. I also typically listen to podcasts at 1 1/2 times the normal speed, but that takes some practice and patience to absorb what you are listening to at a high speed.

Here are my current favorites. Click the picture for the link to the podcast.

The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast is my current favorite. Carey does a great job interviewing and asking questions. His guests are humble and knowledgable, and I always finish feeling excited about what I have learned.The 200 churches podcast exists to provide encouragement to ministry leaders and pastors of smaller churches. Since I minister in a rural area, this one has really helped me not feel discouraged.Andy Stanley has become one of the premier teachers on church leadership. He stretches my thinking and helps me gain clarity in how to communicate vision to our church.

And finally, I guess I have to mention that our church has our own sermon podcast. Click here to listen to our Cornerstone Services each week.

What are your favorites? Leave a comment and let me know.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/08/my-favorite-podcasts.html/feed06669https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/08/my-favorite-podcasts.htmlMy Recent Interview with BizTech Magazinehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/yVGc71j5Y2k/recent-interview-biztech-magazine.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/07/recent-interview-biztech-magazine.html#respondTue, 26 Jul 2016 17:49:45 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=6657<p>I recently was interviewed by BizTech Magazine for an article about how churches use technology. BizTech &#8220;explores technology and business issues that IT leaders and business managers face when they’re evaluating and implementing a solution,&#8221; so it was a little unusual that they reached out to me. However, from a technology standpoint, churches and small businesses face many of the same</p>
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I recently was interviewed by BizTech Magazine for an article about how churches use technology. BizTech “explores technology and business issues that IT leaders and business managers face when they’re evaluating and implementing a solution,” so it was a little unusual that they reached out to me. However, from a technology standpoint, churches and small businesses face many of the same challenges. The interview focused on smaller churches using technology on a limited budget.

I shared about my background in Technology and Engineering, and how that has influenced how I do ministry now. I was also able to share about some of the hardware and software we use for ministry. Technology is a tool we can use for ministry, but it is not our focus. At Cornerstone, we have been blessed to use technology to reach our community through our website, our podcast, and even our church mobile app.

It was a such a great experience being interviewed by BizTech. The photo shoot for the images was a new experience for me. The article appeared in both the print edition and online edition. Click here to read the article online.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/07/recent-interview-biztech-magazine.html/feed06657https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/07/recent-interview-biztech-magazine.htmlAn Opportunity to Respondhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/-8ffT66OVpU/an-opportunity-to-respond.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/07/an-opportunity-to-respond.html#commentsSat, 09 Jul 2016 23:39:33 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=6644<p>As a pastor, I&#8217;ve struggled with how to end our church services. While it is great to see people respond to the Gospel, I feel that everyone needs a chance to respond to what they have heard. Typically, the only people that are asked to respond are people who don&#8217;t know Jesus, but I wanted to open up our invitation time at</p>
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As a pastor, I’ve struggled with how to end our church services. While it is great to see people respond to the Gospel, I feel that everyone needs a chance to respond to what they have heard. Typically, the only people that are asked to respond are people who don’t know Jesus, but I wanted to open up our invitation time at Cornerstone for more than just salvation. Back in 2008, I shared about a church that I visited that had a unique response time. Since then, I’ve been praying and planning. At the start of this year, we kicked off a new response time at Cornerstone. This is how we describe it on our website.

At Cornerstone, we want to help you grow in your faith. So after each service, we want to give you a chance to respond to these two questions.

What is God saying to me?

What am I going to do about it?

We give you the opportunity to respond in several different ways. Sing, Decide, Pray, Talk, Remember, and Give

Any time we gather together to learn from God’s Word, we should be moved to respond. As we learn and grow, our lives are shaped to be more like Jesus in thought and in action. In Acts 2, we see that after hearing a powerful message from Peter, the crowd was moved to respond. So for almost 8 months at Cornerstone, we have given everyone a chance to respond each week.

We made several changes to our service flow. We now do fewer songs at the beginning of our worship service, and more at the end, so that we have a longer time to respond. I feel that singing more after the message really helps us respond in praise and worship. We also now offer communion each week. One of the most powerful response opportunities has been our prayer box at the cross. We invite people to write out their prayer requests and leave them at the cross. Each week the elders pray over the responses and we have seen God move through many circumstances. To help newcomers understand our response time, we have placed a card in the seat pockets to explain what we do and why we do it.

I love seeing people changed by the power of the Gospel, and that includes not just new believers, but mature Christians. I couldn’t imagine doing it differently, I just wish we would have started sooner.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/07/an-opportunity-to-respond.html/feed26644https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/07/an-opportunity-to-respond.htmlEvernote Alternativeshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/KEqEL1IzPsw/evernote-alternatives.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/07/evernote-alternatives.html#commentsFri, 08 Jul 2016 01:46:09 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=6637<p>I&#8217;ve been using Evernote since 2008 to collect and sort notes. I use it for sermon research, for my prayer journal, and even for saving recipes. It works well since it syncs across multiple devices. However, they have recently announced some big changes to their service. Basically, the free account will be limited to only sync on 2 devices, and the</p>
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I’ve been using Evernote since 2008 to collect and sort notes. I use it for sermon research, for my prayer journal, and even for saving recipes. It works well since it syncs across multiple devices. However, they have recently announced some big changes to their service. Basically, the free account will be limited to only sync on 2 devices, and the premium options have received a large price increase.

For me, I really like the ability to use the same note taking app on my computer, my iPhone, and my iPad. But I am hesitant to pay for a service if there is a free alternative. If you are currently using Evernote, then paying $34.99 or $69.99 per year might be worth it to you. For me, I’ve decided to try some alternatives. Here are two big ones.

While Evernote is moving to paid subscriptions, OneNote has been changing its service to be completely free. It is feature rich, and is available across all your devices. They have even developed a free import utility to move your notes from Evernote to OneNote. OneNote is very similar in power to Evernote, but the interface is a little different. In some ways, I think it is more intuitive than Evernote.

Last year, Apple made a huge upgrade to its Notes app in iOS 9. It is now a powerful tool for collecting thoughts. It also syncs to the Notes app on my MacBook Air and is accessible through iCloud.com. Apple Notes also can easily import Evernote notebooks. Since I use Apple computers and devices, I have decided to try this for a while. It does what I need to do, it’s quick, and it’s simple. The ability to bring in my notes from Evernote has worked great. So far, I like the simplicity. Both Evernote and OneNote have grown complex through the years. I want the app to get out of the way so I can get my thoughts collected quickly. Searching also seems faster using the Notes apps.

Don’t be afraid to try new solutions. Find a tool that matches how you work, and use it to stay organized.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/07/evernote-alternatives.html/feed56637https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/07/evernote-alternatives.htmlOur Dependence on Technologyhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/CaopW8C6MVk/our-dependence-on-technology.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/06/our-dependence-on-technology.html#commentsSat, 25 Jun 2016 21:35:07 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=6629<p>Going without a phone for over a week will teach you very quickly how dependent you are on technology. I recently returned from two weeks away from home. I was in Nicaragua for a mission trip for a week, and then at the beach for our Youth Camp with our Cornerstone teens. While in Nicaragua, my phone started going crazy.</p>
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Going without a phone for over a week will teach you very quickly how dependent you are on technology. I recently returned from two weeks away from home. I was in Nicaragua for a mission trip for a week, and then at the beach for our Youth Camp with our Cornerstone teens. While in Nicaragua, my phone started going crazy. At first, it wouldn’t hold a charge, and then it finally quit turning on. I had replacement insurance on the phone, so a replacement was sent to my home, but that meant I was without my phone for over a week.

I’m old enough to remember life before cell phones and email. In fact, I even remember the first modern web browser, Mosaic, being released during my junior year of college. So it’s hard to understand and even believe how far we have come over the past 25 years. I use my phone for my calendar, for my todo list, for note-taking, for reading the news, for tracking exercise, for reading my Bible, and a lot more. I kept reaching for my phone every day out of habit, even though it wasn’t there.

In some ways, being disconnected is a humbling experience. It makes you realize that the world doesn’t stop, even if you don’t know what’s going on. Your company or your church won’t fall apart just because people can’t get in touch with you. It forced me to slow down, to interact more with the people around me, to look up. I think we all need to disconnect more, talk more, and serve more. Technology is a tool that can help you, but don’t let technology keep you from engaging the world around you.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/06/our-dependence-on-technology.html/feed16629https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/06/our-dependence-on-technology.htmlSecuring Your Websitehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/wDDPtzhQ5xw/securing-your-website.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/06/securing-your-website.html#commentsThu, 02 Jun 2016 18:25:28 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=6619<p>Last year I wrote a post about how to keep your website safe. It&#8217;s a good place to start, but what do you do when your website is hacked or under attack? Over the past year, I have seen a huge increase in attempted malicious logins to the sites I host. One site was under attack and registered over a</p>
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Last year I wrote a post about how to keep your website safe. It’s a good place to start, but what do you do when your website is hacked or under attack? Over the past year, I have seen a huge increase in attempted malicious logins to the sites I host. One site was under attack and registered over a million failed logins in the few hours before I was able to block access. Since then, I have made a few changes to my hosting. Let’s go back over my suggestions from the post last year.

Choose strong passwords

Choose a reputable host

Keep backups of your site

Keep everything updated

Delete unused plugins and themes

Use a good security plugin

Don’t panic

Pay someone knowledgeable to do it for you

Now for the changes I’ve made. I use WordPress for most of the sites I host, so the suggestions center around securing WordPress. I’ve worked with my host to increase the security. If you have a good host, they will help configure the server to resist most attacks. I’ve also switched all my sites to the iThemes Security plugin. It has great advanced features that help me lock out unwanted logins to the site. And finally, for the sites that are under attack, I’ve started using Cloudflare, which serves as a free Firewall preventing malicious logins. Even with all these precautions, there is still a chance your site will get hacked. So what do you do? Remember from above, don’t panic. Here are your options.

Option 1: Fix it Yourself

I’ve been able to fix a few hacked websites over the years. The first step for me is contacting the web host to get their help. My host has been helpful in working with me to find the point of entry for the hack. Once you know that, you can choose how to proceed. For the sites I worked on, it was because of outdated themes, plugins, and WordPress versions. Remember even an inactive plugin or theme can be the point of entry for an attack.

If you have a good backup, and you know exactly when the site is compromised. I recommend doing a full delete and restore. By deleting all files and databases, you ensure that you remove the infected files. This is scary, because you have to know your backup can be trusted. If you are unsure how to do this, then you can get the help of a web designer or web developer. For most people though, I would simply recommend hiring an expert to handle this for you.

Option 2: Pay to Get if Fixed

WordFence is a company that makes another good security plugin for WordPress. They have just introduced a flat-rate website cleaning service. For $179, they will clean your site and give you access to their premium security plugin for one year. I think this is a great deal and I will be using and recommending this to people when their sites are hacked.

Another long-term security company is Sucuri. They have a cleaning service for $299 that will again protect your site for the next 12 months. This is another good solution.

Once you go through this, you will quickly realize that prevention is much cheaper than fixing a site after it has been infected or hacked. Keep good backups, take precautions, and don’t panic when the inevitable happens.

]]>https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/06/securing-your-website.html/feed26619https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/06/securing-your-website.htmlReal Time Translation, Without a Translatorhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FaithEngineer/~3/Xf44wevoY0M/real-time-translation-without-translator.html
https://www.faithengineer.com/2016/05/real-time-translation-without-translator.html#respondThu, 26 May 2016 02:12:55 +0000http://www.faithengineer.com/?p=6612<p>Last week a friend of mine emailed me about the new Pilot earpiece translator. This device is really amazing. It&#8217;s something straight out of the future. They have just recently launched the funding phase for this high-tech futuristic translation device on Indiegogo. Think about the implications of a translation device like this for the church. You could use it to interact and communicate</p>
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Last week a friend of mine emailed me about the new Pilot earpiece translator. This device is really amazing. It’s something straight out of the future. They have just recently launched the funding phase for this high-tech futuristic translation device on Indiegogo. Think about the implications of a translation device like this for the church. You could use it to interact and communicate with people in your community who speak different languages. You could use it on mission trips. And you could use it even during services for people who are not native English speakers.

Here’s how it works. Each person inserts an earpiece, and you talk. That’s it! It’s simple and not complicated. I’m sure it will have some of the same problems that all voice dictation systems have, but this is a great idea. Check out the video above to see a demonstration of how it works.